The present invention relates generally to gardening and more particularly to tools used to manually move, turn, loosen, cultivate and rejuvenate the soil of a garden or landscape plot while leaving ground cover, such as bark, peat moss or mulch, which is disposed on top of the soil relatively intact.
Household recreational gardening is well known in the art and is commonly performed by individuals using manually operated gardening tools, such as shovels, hoes, claws, cultivators, rakes and pitchforks.
It is widely appreciated by gardeners that turning, loosening, cultivating and rejuvenating the soil in which seeds are planted, and in which the resulting plants grow, provides numerous advantages which results in a more productive garden.
As a first advantage, it has been found that loosening the soil of a garden enables the roots of a plant to become more firmly entrenched within the soil, which is highly desirable. Specifically, because the roots of the plant become more firmly entrenched within the soil, the roots are more capable of extracting nutrients from the soil. In addition, because the roots of the plant become more firmly entrenched within the soil, the roots are better protected from animals. Furthermore, because the roots of the plant become more firmly entrenched within the soil, the plant is more securely rooted and is less apt to be removed from the garden due to harsh weather conditions, such as high force winds.
As a second advantage, it has been found that loosening the soil of a garden allows air to more easily reach and nutrify the roots or seeds of a plant, which is highly desirable.
Accordingly, gardening tools designed specifically for turning, loosening, cultivating and rejuvenating the soil of a garden while keeping ground cover, such as bark, peat moss or mulch, which is disposed on top of the soil relatively intact are well known and are widely used in the art.
Gardening tools for loosening the soil of a garden typically comprise an elongated rod having a first end and a second end. A handle is commonly formed onto the first end of the elongated rod and is used to facilitate handling of the tool. A tool head is mounted onto the second end of the elongated rod and is used to cultivate the soil. The tool head typically includes two or more sharpened tines which are disposed to project downward from the second end of the elongated rod.
In use, gardening tools of the type described above are commonly used in the following manner to manually move, turn, loosen, cultivate and rejuvenate the soil of a garden or landscape plot while leaving ground cover, such as bark, peat moss or mulch, which is disposed on top of the soil relatively intact. Grasping the handle, the user initially disposes the tool in a generally upright position with the sharpened tines penetrating the soil. The user then typically rotates and urges down the handle of the tool in such a manner that the tines cultivate a limited circular region of the soil. Upon completion of the rejuvenation of the limited circular region of the soil, the tool is lifted vertically out of the soil and can be repositioned at another location within the garden for further cultivation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,900 to Dick Liao, there is disclosed a gardening tool for loosening soil which includes a shaft having an upper end and a lower end, a longitudinal axis, and a tine having a wavy profile along its length. The tine is connected to the bottom end of the shaft and initially projects outward from the longitudinal axis of the shaft and thereafter extends in a direction that points away from the upper end of the shaft and is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The gardening tool includes a handle having a unique design which improves ease of use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,466 to Paul W. Ohlson, there is disclosed a prong-equipped garden tool having an elongate shaft with a handle on one end of the shaft and the opposite end of the shaft having a plurality of circumferentially spaced generally axially extending cultivating and weeding prongs, the shaft and handle permitting a gardener to use the tool in a generally upright position for soil loosening, cultivating and weeding by rotary and rocking maneuvers of the handle and agitating the prongs, and for optionally spearing trash or aerating sod.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,768 to F. Lorenz, there is disclosed a manual agricultural implement having a shaft with an axis and two ends, a handle arranged at one of the ends of the shaft and a tool arranged at the other end of the shaft having a plurality of tines arranged at radial distances from the shaft, the tines extending around the shaft axis in a curved manner and along the surface of an imaginary cylinder which is coaxial to the shaft axis.
Although well known and widely used in commerce, tools of the type described above suffer from notable drawbacks.
As an example, tools of the type described above typically comprise sharpened tines which have a limited surface area. As a result, the user is required to expend a considerable amount of time and energy in order to rejuvenate the soil of an entire garden, which is highly undesirable.
As another example, tools of the type described above are constructed to be used in a substantially vertical position. As a result, the user is required to constantly bend over in order to urge downward and rotate the tool, thereby creating a considerable amount of lower back strain on the user, which is highly undesirable.
As another example, tools of the type described above are constructed in such a manner so as to rejuvenate the soil of a garden at a fixed depth. As a result, the user is not able to modify the depth in which the soil is cultivated to accommodate the particular needs of the garden, which is highly undesirable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved garden tool for manually moving, turning, loosening, cultivating and rejuvenating the soil of a garden or landscape plot.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a garden tool of the type described above which has a limited number of parts, which is easy to use and which is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a garden tool of the type described above which is constructed to enable for the manual moving, turning, loosening, cultivating and rejuvenating the soil of a garden at varying depths.
Accordingly, as one feature of the present invention, there is provided a garden tool, comprising a tool head having a plurality of tines, each tine comprising a tooth and a first wing formed onto the tooth, and a handle mounted onto said tool head.
As another feature of the present invention, there is provided a garden tool, comprising a tool head having a plurality of tines, and a handle pivotally and lockably mounted onto said tool head.
Various other features and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments for practicing the invention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.